News By Edition

The Delaware General Assembly passed legislation adopting the Uniform Law Commission’s Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts (RULONA), allowing for the use of remote online notarizations (RON). The bill will go into effect on Aug. 1, 2023.

A title insurer filed a complaint alleging one of its contractors failed to comply with all the contractual obligations it owed the insurer. The title insurer felt the contractor’s discovery responses were insufficiently particular and filed a motion to compel responses to its interrogatories and requests for the production of documents.

After purchasing property in Tacoma, Wash., the new owner learned of an undisclosed title encumbrance and filed a claim with his title insurer. While the title insurer did provide coverage and secure counsel, the owner was dissatisfied with the insurer’s actions on his behalf. He filed suit against the insurer for breach of contract, violation of Washington’s Insurance Fair Conduct and Consumer Protection Acts, and insurance bad faith.

The Arizona Department of Insurance published notices of proposed rulemaking in the Arizona Administrative Register for three separate, but interconnected rulemakings to address the structural changes made when the former Departments of Financial Institutions and Insurance merged.

The Utah Insurance Department has proposed repealing the state’s Mandatory Fraud Reporting Rule, R590-248. The department is accepting comments until Aug. 15, 2022.

U.S. Sens. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) introduced legislation to authorize a one-year extension to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which is set to expire on Sept. 30, 2022.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced the establishment of the Office of Financial Technology. This office will serve as a centralized source of information to support FHFA in addressing emerging risks and advancing agency priorities related to the adoption and deployment of financial technology (fintech).

The original buyer of property in Brookline, Mass., voiced concerns about whether the property had easement right to access a shared driveway and failed to show up at the closing. The seller then sold the property to another party. Months later, the original buyer filed a pdf copy of a deed conveying the property from the original owner to himself. The new owner filed suit, seeking a declaration that the pdf copy of the deed is null and void.

Four homeowners within a community filed suit against the homeowners association, arguing that their properties were not subject to the community’s deed restrictions because the deed restrictions weren’t properly recorded and they had no notice of the restrictions when they purchased their properties. The homeowners and the association moved for summary judgment.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is seeking comments on its proposed renewal, without change, of an approved information collection found in existing Bank Secrecy Act regulations concerning information sharing between government agencies and financial institutions.

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey named a new chief deputy commissioner of the department.

Two men were indicted by a Queens County, N.Y., grand jury for allegedly filing paperwork to claim ownership of an East Elmhurst, Queens home. They allegedly impersonated the deceased homeowner, as well as her son, to gain access to the payoff information of the mortgages on the property so that it could be sold and used that information to complete the sale of the property.

The Montgomery County, Md., Office of Consumer Protection (OCP) said it is receiving inquiries from homeowners who are wondering if they need to subscribe and pay monthly fees to companies that claim to protect their homes from being stolen.

After purchasing property in New York City, the new owners of the property discovered the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) had designated the property as a landmark, impeding the new owners’ plans for the property. They filed a claim with their title insurer, which was denied. They then sued their title insurer for breach of coverage and negligence.

The Vermont Legislature adopted legislation prohibiting racially and religiously restrictive covenants in deeds at the state level. The bill went into effect July 1.

In recent announcements, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac let the industry know when each will be requiring the use of the 2021 ALTA policy forms.

The New Hampshire Department of Insurance issued a bulletin regarding the reporting of suspected cases of insurance fraud.

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott appointed a new commissioner of the Department of Financial Regulation as well as a deputy commissioner of insurance.

A New York man pleaded guilty to a charge stemming from a wide-ranging mortgage fraud scheme involving 24 mortgage loans on numerous multi-family housing properties in Hartford, N.Y., totaling nearly $50 million.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a legal interpretation to ensure companies that use and share credit reports and background reports have a permissible purpose under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

A bill has been enacted under Article II, Section 17(c) of the Maryland Constitution that authorizes title insurers to conduct a required annual review of a title insurance producer in person, remotely by using mail, overnight delivery, or electronic means or by a combination of in-person and remote methods. The bill will go into effect Oct. 1, 2022.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation expanding the scope of the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act. The act, now known as the Partition of Real Property Act, now applies to any real property held in tenancy in common where there is no agreement in a record binding all the cotenants which governs the partition of the property.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) sent a letter to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul urging her to veto the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act, arguing it would harm homeowners by limiting a lender’s flexibility to work with borrowers in default to offer them home retention options in lieu of foreclosure.

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a bulletin reminding insurance companies that bias and discriminatory use of consumers’ data are prohibited. Lara said he is committed to using all tools to prevent unfair practices targeting Californians, many of whom are low-income and from communities of color, and to ensure consumer protections are upheld under California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act and other Insurance Code laws.

The Supreme Court of New Jersey recently heard a case determining whether the mandatory three-day attorney review clause required in residential real estate sales contracts must be required for contracts of sale for real estate sold at an absolute auction.

Before purchasing property in Brooklyn, N.Y., the buyer required the seller to modify a restrictive covenant that included a building height restriction. It then filed a claim with its title insurer, arguing the modified restrictive covenant did not enable it to proceed with its construction plans for the property. The title insurer denied coverage and the property owner filed suit.

The Maryland General Assembly adopted legislation requiring courts in actions to partition real property to determine the market value of the property unless it makes certain determinations; establishing procedures for the purchase of interests in real property by cotenants; for the partition in kind of real property among cotenants, and for the partition by sale of real property on the open market by a real estate broker licensed in Maryland. The bill goes into effect Oct. 1, 2022.

Earlier this year, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Roger Wicker (R-MS) introduced the bipartisan Kleptocrat Liability for Excessive Property Transactions and Ownership (KLEPTO) Act. The bill seeks to prevent money laundering, the financing of terrorism or other forms of illicit finance through real estate and vehicle transactions.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce launched a campaign against what it calls the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra’s ideological driven agenda to change the nature of America’s financial services industry.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey appointed Deputy Insurance Commissioner Mark Fowler to serve as acting insurance commissioner following the retirement of Commissioner Jim Ridling.

A company, as custodian for the benefit of a man’s individual retirement account, purchased property in Valencia County, N.M., and bought a title insurance policy for the property. The property was quitclaimed to another party, and then another. The man eventually filed a claim with the title company and the title insurer denied the claim because the coverage had been terminated when the property was first transferred. The man sued for breach of contract and the title insurer moved for summary judgment.

The U.S. Treasury Department has issued its National Strategy for Combating Terrorist and Other Illicit Financing, which outlines several priorities and supporting actions to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. Among other things, it outlines its plan to bring greater transparency to real estate transactions.

Missouri Gov. Michael Parson signed legislation changing the laws regarding restrictive covenants by expanding the definition of prohibited covenants and establishing a procedure to remove prohibited covenants from deeds. The bill goes into effect Aug. 28, 2022.

The New Jersey Appellate Division recently held that a debtor’s failure to plead a bankruptcy discharge does not waive affirmative defense in a post-discharge foreclosure action. The debtors under a bankruptcy case later filed an action against a creditor, seeking to quiet title to their home and prevent the creditor from pursuing claims under the subject note, mortgage or guaranty.

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s Securities Division warned state residents about a recent increase in fraudulent schemes targeting owners of timeshare properties in Mexico.

A Rochester, Ill. Man was sentenced to time in prison, followed by supervised release, for six counts of wire fraud resulting from a mortgage fraud scheme.